TY  - GEN
T1  - Coming of age in contemporary American fiction
A1  - Millard, Kenneth
LA  - English
PP  - Edinburgh
PB  - Edinburgh University Press
YR  - 2007
UL  - https://ebooks.jgu.edu.in/Record/ebsco_acadsubs_ocn150493222
AB  - This book explores the ways in which a range of recent American novelists have handled the genre of the 'coming-of-age' novel, or the Bildungsroman. Novels of this genre characteristically dramatise the vicissitudes of growing up and the trials and tribulations of young adulthood, often presented through depictions of immediate family relationships and other social structures. This book considers a variety of different American cultures (in terms of race, class and gender) and a range of contemporary coming-of-age novels, so that aesthetic judgements about the fiction might be made in the context of the social history that fiction represents. A series of questions are asked: Does the coming-of-age moment in these novels coincide with an interpretation of the 'fall' of America? What kind of national commentary does it therefore facilitate? Is the Bildungsroman a quintessentially American genre? What can it usefully tell us about contemporary American culture? Although the focus is on the contemporary period, this is placed in the context of reference to earlier novels and criticism of the genre, as well as historical changes in the status of the family, and the adolescent within it. Key Features. Provides detailed interpretations of 12 key contemporary novels from authors including Purple America by Rick Moody, The Age of Consent by Geoffrey Wolff, The Virgin Suicides by Jefffrey Eugenides and Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel. Explains the importance of the coming-of-age genre to the broader American literature canon. Makes a significant intervention in contemporary debate about what is most valuable in recent American fiction.
OP  - 192
CN  - PS374.B55 M65 2007eb
SN  - 9780748621736
SN  - 0748621733
SN  - 9780748629541
SN  - 0748629548
SN  - 9780748629817
SN  - 0748629815
SN  - 9780748651740
SN  - 0748651748
SN  - 0748621741
SN  - 9780748621743
SN  - 9786610833986
SN  - 6610833982
SN  - 128083398X
SN  - 9781280833984
KW  - Bildungsromans, American : History and criticism.
KW  - American fiction : 20th century : History and criticism.
KW  - Roman d'éducation américain : Histoire et critique.
KW  - Roman américain : 20e siècle : Histoire et critique.
KW  - LITERARY CRITICISM : American : General.
KW  - LITERARY CRITICISM : General.
KW  - American fiction
KW  - Bildungsromans, American
KW  - Bildungsroman
KW  - USA
KW  - 1900-1999
KW  - Electronic books.
KW  - Criticism, interpretation, etc.
ER  -